Licensing & Concessions

Nigeria’s NNPC secures $3.15 bn deal to develop oil mining licence

July 27, 2019 | Budget & Investment, Licensing & Concessions, Nigeria

Nigeria to earn $10bn from the new oil financing deal London, UK | – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  said on Tuesday that it had secured a US$3.15 billion financial and technical services agreement with local firm Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) to develop the OML-13 oil license owned by NNPC’s upstream subsidiary NPDC. The deal is part of NNPC’s strategy to develop more resources and increase oil production with the help of financing from third parties to spread out development …

Nigeria has no plans to renew expired oil block licences

July 25, 2019 | Company Operations, Government & Regulations, Licensing & Concessions, Nigeria

NNPC withholds payments to Eni Abuja, Nigeria | – The Nigerian government  has no immediate plan to renew the expired oil block licences, particularly those belonging to international oil companies (IOCs)  operating in the country, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Mele Kyari, has said. Nogtec Abuja bureau gathered that the IOCs operating some oil blocks with expired licences in various locations in the Niger Delta had been making enquiries on when the government would renew the licences. Commenting on …

South Africa’s SFF signs oil exploration deal with South Sudan

May 10, 2019 | Licensing & Concessions, South Africa, Sudan & South Sudan

London, UK | — South Africa has signed an agreement to explore oil in South Sudan, which holds the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa’s state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) will own and operate the lucrative Block B2 in South Sudan and a six-year exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) was signed Monday, according to a joint statement from both governments. This is part of a $1 billion investment that South Africa has promised in the war-torn country’s oil sector. Nilepet, the national oil …

Uganda launches second round of competitive bidding for oil blocks

May 10, 2019 | Government & Regulations, Licensing & Concessions, Uganda

Kampala, Uganda | –  Uganda has launched a second round of competitive bidding for five oil exploration blocks in the west of the country, where it has already discovered commercial crude reserves, the energy ministry said. In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the ministry said a total of 4,928 square kilometres would be offered in the new round. Energy Minister Irene Muloni, speaking at an oil conference in Kenya’s seaport town of Mombasa on Wednesday, invited investors to take up the blocks, the …

Total and Sonangol sign oil block contract in São Tomé & Príncipe

March 27, 2019 | Company Operations, Licensing & Concessions, West Africa

London, UK | –  São Tomé and Príncipe’s National Petroleum Agency on Friday signed a production-sharing agreement with the consortium made up of France’s Total E&P and Angola’s Sonangol, according to a statement released on Monday in São Tomé. The production-sharing agreement, signed after the conclusion of negotiations with the consortium, is focused on oil prospecting in Block 1 of São Tomé and Príncipe’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the agency said. Negotiations, which began on 9 November 2018, came after the National Petroleum Agency made the …

Shell facing criminal prosecution over Nigeria oil deal and other charges

March 04, 2019 | Legal, Licensing & Concessions, Nigeria

Oil giant Shell will be prosecuted by the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office over an allegedly corrupt oil deal in Nigeria. Shell and Italian firm Eni stand accused of bribery over payments made to secure an exploration licence for a Nigerian oil block. Shell has also been summoned by Dutch prosecutors over an explosion at its Moerdijk facility in 2014, as well as accusations it exceeded ethylene oxide emissions limits between 2015 and 2016. London, UK | – Dutch prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Royal Dutch …

Egypt approves BP purchase of 25 percent of Nour gas concession

December 09, 2018 | Egypt, Licensing & Concessions

Cairo, Egypt | –  British multinational oil and gas company BP and UAE-based Mubadala Investment Company are to buy stakes in the Nour deepwater gas concession off the northern coast of Sinai, following approval by Egypt’s petroleum ministry on Sunday. Nour lies near the Zohr gas field, which was declared the biggest in the Mediterranean when it was discovered in 2015. Zohr is estimated to hold about 30 trillion cubic feet of gas and has raised interest in gas exploration in Egypt. BP will buy 25 percent and …

Uganda invites new oil exploration bids for 2019

December 09, 2018 | East Africa, Licensing & Concessions, Uganda

London, UK – Ahead of the second competitive round for exploration licences in 2019, Uganda is lobbying for investors in its Albertine fields to prospect for oil. State Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Peter Lokeris, told international oil firms, financing groups, oil lawyers and consultants gathered in Juba on November 21 that Uganda is an attractive destination for oil investments. “Out of 121 wells drilled, 106 had hydrocarbons,” he said, adding that out of the 6.5 billion barrels of oil so far discovered since …